New estimates from the World Health Organization (WHO) suggest that nearly 300 health facilities in Yemen have been damaged or destroyed, and around half of the remaining facilities are fully functioning. The WHO said the instability of the Yemeni currency has also driven up the cost of medicines and supplies, and thousands of health workers have not been paid for months.

The startling figures come at a time when it is estimated that 19.7 million people living in Yemen need health assistance, an increase of 3.1 million people in the last year.

Earlier this week, donors pledged $2.6 billion to provide urgently needed support to the millions of Yemeni civilians facing an 'overwhelming humanitarian calamity' after nearly four years of war. However, the United Nations (UN) says the 2019 Humanitarian Response Plan for Yemen requires $4 billion.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres said while tens of thousands of people have been killed or injured since the conflict escalated, many more have died from preventable diseases, exacerbated by malnutrition. He warned that around 20 million people are unable to 'reliably feed themselves or their families' and 'almost 10 million are just one step away from famine'.